Getting Things Done with your Macintosh

Hi, Regarding Jeff Porten's stance on using Web-based to-do services in Tidbits 839, I have come across one that may get around the problem he has with them, in that you can export the to-do list in iCal format, which enables importing of the to-do list into iCal and Google calenders (& vice-versa). The to-do items come in as all-day items, but with time estimates intact. It's called (niftily) Toodledo.

<www.toodledo.com>

As for the functionality itself, it appears to be simple, yet pretty comprehensive with several priorities and repeat periods. There are folders for sets of tasks and a nice touch is being able to attach a note to a task and having the icon indicate such by changing colour. Completed items disappear into a completed items section.

All of the above is free, however there are a few pro features for which you pay a yearly $USD 20 fee, which is currently at a $10 introductory offer price.

The support is good too - I got a rapid response from the developer (I think it was the developer) regarding a technical problem and a feature request - which was implemented!

Worth checking out in your search for control of your life from any computer in the world... ;)

Regards,

GAM

While we're on the topic of Mac-based GTD and request for proposals,
I've just finished reading David's GTD and perusing 43folders and other
related sites, and am looking for a way to reorganize my digital life. I
thought others here might be looking for, or have found, a similar solution!

I'm basically looking for a web-based PIM that does the following:

1. Web-based email with nice ajax interface

2. Contacts database with nice web-2.0 features, including sharing of
contact groups with another user (where both parties can edit -- think a
small company with a list of shared clients)

3. Textual notes database (can be non-hierarchical, but needs to be in
the same interface). This can just be a simple list of titles and bodies.

4. Web-based calendar with nice web-2.0 interface, and the ability to
share some calendars with other (both sides can edit) as well as
subscribe via ics.

5. NO ads. Or, at least the option for a paid hosted service with no ads.

6. Snappy, elegant interface.

Is there anything out there that has all of these?

I've found solutions that integrate *parts* but never everything completely.

Gmail -- http://www.gmail.com
-----
Gmail fits a bunch of these. It has #1, and #2 except for the sharing of
contacts. It doesn't have #5 -- even the new hosted gmail service shows ads.

Google Calendar -- http://calendar.google.com
---------------
Google calendar fits #4 perfectly. It has an awesome web-based interface
and allows sharing with either view-only or delegated editing. I'd like
something with a calendar component as slick and usable as this.

Joyent -- http://www.joyent.com
------
Joyent starts to approach what I'm looking for, but is really slow, and
its interface isn't nearly as slick.

BackPackIt -- http://backpackit.com/
----------
This is a really cool system for notes (a nifty ajax-ified wiki,
basically) and just added a really slick calendar that acts just like a
web version of iCal. The calendar, however, doesn't support 2-way
sharing, and it also doesn't have any integration with email or a
contacts database -- plus a recent query on their forums indicate that
they have no plans to add this in the future.

Zimbra -- http://www.zimbra.com
------
Zimbra is an open-source platform with a lot of potential. Its concept
of zimlets looks quite flexible and innovative. I really like how
everything is a mashup -- you can even hover over a webpage and it shows
a live thumbnail of that site. The interface, however, is slow, rigid,
and inflexible.

What does everyone else here use? Right now, I'm using a custom
web-based address book, custom calendar, and custom notes combined with
mutt for email. It *works*, but isn't elegant nor expandable.

Thanks!

David McLaughlin

I found the GTD articles very inspirational. I ran out and got the book. I am about halfway though right now.

I found some additional resources on-line and I wanted to share them. First is a Java application called Thinking Rock that was designed to manage the GTD system. Because has been developed using Java it works on a Mac as well as Windows and Linux. All your data is saved as an XML file which you can copy from one platform to another which is very handy for thoose of us who have to use Windows at work. I have found some interface bugs, but so far it is working well for me.

http://www.thinkingrock.com.au/index.php

The other is a web site with GTD links called 36 resources on GTD software.

http://www.listible.com/list/gtd-software

Thanks to Tidbits for stepping beyond what is their normal topics and finding some really great ideas.

Leonard Horthy -- Time is the quality of nature that keeps events from happening all at once. Lately it doesn't seem to be working.

On Aug 9, 2006, at 4:55 PM, David McLaughlin wrote:

> I'm basically looking for a web-based PIM that does the following:

David --

Just catching up on TB-Talk. Have you tried Basecamp?

Best,
Jeff Porten

On Aug 11, 2006, at 3:52 PM, lhorthy wrote:

> I found the GTD articles very inspirational. I ran out and got the
> book. I am about halfway though right now.
>
[snip]
>
> Thanks to Tidbits for stepping beyond what is their normal topics
> and finding some really great ideas.

Leonard --

Just catching up on TB-Talk. Thanks for the kudos.

Best,
Jeff Porten

> Just catching up on TB-Talk. Have you tried Basecamp?

Basecamp is cool, and it works great for group project collaboration, but it
doesn't work well for individual or small group PIM needs. For example, it
doesn't really have a contact manager or email client.

Thanks,
David

Check out taskspro

http://www.taskspro.com/

I use my mac and the blackberry for all my life organization. I like this system because I can email tasks to it and it auto-updates. It has iCal and RSS feeds too and a great tag system to categorize. There's even a lightweight interface built-in for mobile use, which is great for the blackberry browser. This is one of my favorite discoveries.

Michael